# Van Halen 2: Is it a perfect rock album?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-halen-2-is-it-a-perfect-rock-album/746105>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 14, 2016, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-halen-2-is-it-a-perfect-rock-album/746105 "2016-02-14T10:20:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-halen-2-is-it-a-perfect-rock-album/746105/21 "2016-02-15T18:17:37Z")

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> [@dalej42](#):
>
> Van Halen made some entertaining albums, but Alex Van Halen isn’t a world class drummer, thus no Van Halen album can be considered perfect.

I just cant believe this. AVH serves the songs perfectly. To my non-musician ear, he us a perfect combo of technic and aggression.

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**Author:** ![Corporal\_Clegg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Corporal\_Clegg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corporal_Clegg)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-halen-2-is-it-a-perfect-rock-album/746105/22 "2016-02-15T18:46:11Z")

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It’s subjective. If you like VH you’ll think highly. Nothing by him would rate in my pantheon of great rock albums. That’s to take nothing away from his high place as a guitar innovator. I think Allan Holdsworth nd Robert Fripp are great guitar innovators too but no recoreds from them sit at the apex of album releases. Are You Experience by Hendrix does, Chips from the Chocolate Fireball by The Dukes of Stratusphear (who are really the group XTC) does, Smile by Brian Wilson. does, Quadrophenia by the Who does, “K” by Kula Shaker does, if not for a couple of throw aways by Colin Moulding like War Dance and Bungalow, XTC’s “Non-such” would be in the pantheon of greatness.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-halen-2-is-it-a-perfect-rock-album/746105/23 "2016-02-15T20:47:55Z")

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> [@madsircool](#):
>
> I just cant believe this. AVH serves the songs perfectly. To my non-musician ear, he us a perfect combo of technic and aggression.

Yeah, I’m highly rhythm-section-driven as a listener, and I don’t see any problem with Alex Van Halen’s drumming. Many albums I would consider “perfect” had solid, but not show-stopping drummers: Pixie’s _Doolittle_, My Bloody Valentine’s _Loveless_, Wire’s _Chairs Missing_, Metallica’s _Master of Puppets_, etc. I’m not entirely sure what is meant by “world class drummer” or even why it’s necessary to have one. . Imperfect musicians can make a perfect album, in my opinion. None of the bands above have what I think would be called “world class drummers,” but all produced world class, perfect albums. I mean, drummers are much more important than the casual listener seems to think, but the importance is being able to groove and fit in with the band’s music. Like Meg White previously mentioned.

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